Welcome to Braided Brook, a Journal of Stories About Growth.

Aug 1 Overcoming A Fear Of Failure Is The Key To Success

I learned to experiment and find my strengths and weaknesses by performing my poetry at open mic nights and pursuing a career in computer science. The attitude I brought into these experiences is to have an open mind. If you doubt yourself and say that “I can’t do this,” then your mind will always fear failure.

When you face adversity, you do everything in your power just to survive. When I was in high school, I had a hard time being social with other people. Social situations such as attending events with my friends, chasing after opportunities and going after what I truly wanted were very difficult for me. I remembered times spent alone when I dreaded going to parties because I felt that people would laugh at me. It wasn’t until after high school that I started gaining confidence within myself to go after what I truly wanted. I was even scared of dating other people until I started dating in my adulthood.

I always had an interest in art and loved to write poetry. Poetry was a great outlet for me because I got a chance to express my emotions on paper. I went to open mic nights to read my poetry in front of a crowd full of people. It was a nerve-wracking experience. But the more times I read my poetry out loud, the more I felt as if my anxiety vanished out of thin air. What I loved about performing at open mic night is to be able to use your words to affect the audience. I also self-published a short poetry collection called “Opium Fields.”

When I graduated, I felt lost because I didn’t know what I actually wanted to do with my life. Often times, people ask this question: What do you want to do with your life? Or, how do you see yourself in a few years? I attended Gainesville Job Corps, where I gained skills in becoming a medical assistant and even gained certifications.

I was trying to find a job in the medical field even though it wasn’t something that interested me. I grew depressed because it wasn’t something I really wanted to do, and I couldn’t find work within that field because I was very anxious on job interviews. The reason why I went into the medical field is because my aunt worked as a certified nursing assistant for a number of years.

After that experience, I made a promise to myself: Once I returned back to college after finishing up with Job Corps, I will major in the field that I’m actually interested in.

Around that time, I started to become interested in computer science. I searched online for coding boot camps to attend because I really wanted to know more about this amazing career field. I found the Gainesville Dev Academy, a 12-week boot camp course for IOS app development. But I was also working as an activity leader at an after-school program and had to travel across town without a car. My boss allowed me to leave work 30 minutes early every day until I completed the program. I took Uber rides because my friends were at work and my best friend’s mom had had surgery. There were times where I was late but my instructor recorded the lecture for the class. I caught the bus home once I left class.

I sometimes I doubted myself and even wanted to quit, but I gained words of encouragement from my friends and family. After I graduated the program, I can truly say I didn’t regret any of those nights.

The lessons I learned from these experiences is to never fear failure. The taste of failure is still sweet because you’re growing and expanding your horizons. When you strive for goals, it’s important to know that you shouldn’t lay back on your achievements. Learn how to be able to be able to balance and plan. Cultivate your skills. A garden full of possibilities is ripe for the picking.